Still Winter - Missoula, Montana

The marmot has spoken (er, observed?): Six more weeks of winter for us on this side of the world. And the snow keeps coming....!

 (Full disclosure: This pic was during our October snowfall, hence the fresh leaves and plump berries...)

Toward Clarity - East Missoula, Montana

 “Old habit of mind is one of the toughest things to get away from in the world.”  

-Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), in A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court, Ch. 22: The Holy Fountain

Uncluttered - Near Bozeman, Montana

A couple weeks ago, I added the following focus tip as an 8:15 AM Calendar entry. I read it to start every workday, then move it to the next weekday morning. (Same bat time, same bat channel!) So far, so good - I find it helps clarify my one-thing-at-a-time striving.

#17: "Keep your desk and workspace bare. Treat every object as an imposition upon your attention, because it is. A workspace is not a place for storing things. It is a place for accomplishing things." 

Many thanks to my fave life-hacker Tim Ferriss for sharing the link to 100 Tips for a Better Life by by Ideopunk.

Isolated Eavesdropping - On Hwy 200, Montana

“I'm learning to surrender both to the grueling work and to the isolation. When I need centering, I sing a favourite hymn, "Spirit of God descend upon my heart," which also allows me to eavesdrop on my spirit and pick up on its mumblings.”

-Joan Anderson, in A Year By The Sea, p.131

Seasons, Cycles - Missoula, Montana

"In actuality, life is full of cycles, and cycles are not always unhealthy. In our walks, we will have cycles. I think my biggest barrier is my own reaction to what is at times completely normal behaviour for anybody. 

If I could just begin to incorporate more of the principles of God's love and His forgiveness as it relates to my own inability to be perfect, then I think my commitment would be a lot more solid and a lot easier to uphold."

-Margaret Becker, in 1990 interview with Jerry Wilson for Cross Rhythms

Doorways - Butte, Montana

“Our time is our life, and our attention is the doorway to our hearts.”

-John Mark Comer in The Ruthless Elimination Of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World 

Everyday Holiness - Montana

I’ve had this thought-full quote in pocket and it seems fitting for today, both in light of current US events AND because today is Ukrainian (or Orthodox) Christmas Day. Oh, that we will walk with eyes open to see holiness and value in our everyday people and places (hmmmm... like Jesus does....).

“My mind wanders to a friend who trained monks in ritualization. “When they started Communion,” she explained, “they would pick up the chalice without giving it any thought, purely an object to be used, not treated as holy. What they needed to learn was the importance of developing a relationship with liturgical things and become involved with them. Only then would the ceremony have meaning.” 

Listening to her, I couldn't help but imagine what my world might be like if I looked at the human beings I was closest to as holy and treated them with that same sense of respect.”

-Joan Anderson, in A Year By The Sea, p. 73-74

Back To Work View - Missoula, Montana

A perspective pointer toward gratitude for added benefits of getting out of bed on chilly winter mornings to go to work (besides the glorious sunrise bonus!):

“My grandmother used to say, “As the hands toil, so the spirit is raised above the troubled motions of the mind.” 

 -Joan Anderson, in A Year By The Sea, p. 69